* English

„At home, in Gugu” we aim to create an integral space for life based on natural buildings, permaculture and forest gardening in order to support personal and community transformational processes.

VALUES

We welcome each day as a gift, as a new opportunity for exploring, learning and experimenting life in all its forms. We remind ourselves daily that we are in every moment co-creators of the cosmic game and that our happiness depends on each of our thoughts, deeds and words. We cultivate inner peace and celebrate it in interdependence.

We choose to reconnect with our deeper Self and with others. We focus on simplicity and efficiency in action, on developing our compassion, empathy and ability to love. We try to live in harmony with nature and acknowledge her as mother and support of all that is alive in and around us. We do this with the awareness that everyone has a gift to offer and we dedicate our life to learning constantly how can we put this gift into practice. We learn to forgive and love.

Home, in Gugu, we have the natural space which hosts us to be and do the things that make us happy. Here we express our creativity through dance, music, cooking and work-play in nature. Here we re-learn how to live following nature’s rhythms and observe her universal principles at work.

At Gugu we build with sand, clay, stone, straw and wood. We plant seeds, shrubs and trees, respecting permaculture and food forest principles. We nourish ourselves with what is growing locally and much of our food during Summer and Fall is being provided by our garden, the forest and our neighbors’ gardens and households. We use renewable energy.

We practice active nonviolence in all our actions, with compassion and love. We balance extremes and aim for harmony. We know that our daily mindfulness practice has the potential to make us happy. We remind each other this aspect.

We experiment with gift economy as a practical way for building a community based on exchanging gifts, resources, ideas, information and energy, beyond financial transactions.

One of our spiritual practices is enjoying garlic. Still, we welcome in our group people who don’t like this wonderful plant, as we didn’t develop a dogma out of it 🙂

We enjoy every wave of inspiration that is brought as a contribution by those who choose to join our playing circle. We cherish dialogue and consensus as ways of expressing group processes. We love silence as well, when our minds become too talkative.

We live a beautiful energy of abundance.

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WHAT WE DO

Here we organize Semințe de fericire (Seeds of Happiness) workshops and camps throughout the Summer – on topics such as inner peace, transformative learning, healing, active nonviolence, growth and change processes.

Below you can find our main objectives:

2015
* We develop further the permaculture and forest gardening parts of the project
* We build the first guest house and a couple of tree houses
* We prepare spaces for individual and group activities (relaxing, adventure and working together, meditation, reflection)

* We run on site „Seeds of Happiness” workshops and courses

2014

* We develop the permaculture garden and further plant the forest
* We build a space for running activities, a summer kitchen, showers and toilets block

* We continue the work on the cob cottage and annexes
* We install our first solar panels (both for electricity and hot water)
* We build our first rocket stove with a heating thermal mass (cob bench)
* We install running water

2013

* We build a temporary straw bale store room
* We start building a cob cottage
* We organize a camping site
* We tend an experimental garden
* We plant more than 500 trees and shrubs

* We host work volunteers and guide garden tours for people visiting

2011-2012

* We experiment with permaculture and food forest gardening design and action
* We live on site in the warmer seasons and build relationships with the local community

* We use solar showers, a mini-rocket stove and composting (dry) toilets